The historical overview of Gaudeamus

The first student festival was held in year 1956 in Tartu. The initiator of the first festival was Richard Ritsing. Festival was called Gaudeamus in the year 1967. Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia have organized this festival by turns.

Gaudeamus has been the carrier of the idea of the national, cultural, partially political and clearly creative identity of the Baltic States. It has valued this idea and developed it further through the initiative and brave self-determination of young people and the message of art showing appreciation of its national roots.

July 7-8, 1956. The 1^st Students' Song Festival took place in Estonia. It started with a procession during which the participants sang the students' anthem at the Tartu University and Academy of Agriculture. More than 2200 students, including guests from Russia, Karelia, Belorus and  Ukraine, gathered around the Baltic Students Song and Dance Festival fire in Tartu in Toome Valley.

July 5-7, 1958. The next Baltic Students' Song and Dance Festival was held in Latvia – in Riga and Sigulda. The number of participants had grown to 3000. The Festival program was remarkable for the concert on July 6 on the beautifully decorated and headlighted Daugava ponton bridge.

July 8-9, 1967. Estonia was the Festival host and it took place in the new Tartu Tahtvere festival grounds. The tradition of a friendship fire that started in Sigulda was continued in the small town Elva. The number of performers totalled 3200.

July 6-7, 1968. The 4^th Gaudeamus was held in Lithuania in the new Vingis Park Theater and Þalgiris stadium. More than 5000 students from Tallinn, Tartu, Riga, Leningrad, Kishinev, Minsk, Tomsk and other cities sang, played and danced there.

July 9-11, 1971. The 5^th Gaudeamus resounded in Latvia, in Riga and the main concerts were held in Ogre Open Air Theater. It attracted more than 3000 performers.

July 6-7, 1974. The sonorous festival returned to Estonia, Tartu and, this time, also extended to Polva. The number of participants counted 4500.

July 7-9, 1978. The 7^th Baltic Students' Song and Dance Festival was held in Vilnius. The number of participants turned to 6000. Gala concerts held in Vingis Park Theater and Þalgiris stadium. For the first time Vilnius higher school students' ball-room dance groups took part in the festival.

July 10-12, 1981. The concerts of the 8^th Gaudeamus were given in Ogre and other places in Latvia, but the central event was Riga dance and song event. It attracted more than 6500  performers   and  a great  number of dance groups. From now on Gaudeamus is called a Students' Song and Dance Festival.

July 7-8, 1984. Estonia offered festival grounds for the 9^th Gaudeamus. Concerts took place in Tartu, Kohtla-Jarve and Parnu, but the gala concert was traditionally held in the marvellous  Tallinn Song Theater. For two days there sang and danced 6000 students. The 9^th festival was grew in the variety of  performing genres. There participated choirs and folk  dance groups, also groups of athletes, ball-room  dancers, brass orchestras, song and dance groups, folk instrument bands.

July 1-3, 1998. The 10^th Gaudeamus in Vilnius reached a number of 7000 participants. Concerts spread to Ðiauliai, in Kaunas, and three concerts in Vilnius. The 10th Gaudeamus coincided with the revival movement, the students sang and dance under the national colors and this was considered to be a major political challenge. This  festival  symbolized Faith in  Liberation.

June 27-30, 1991. The 11^th Gaudeamus took place in Latvia, in Liepaja and Cesis with the main concert in Ogre. It was attended by 4500 students from independent Baltic States united in their love for music.

July 8-9, 1995. The 12^th Gaudeamus revisited its native grounds in Estonia, in the renovated Tahtvere Open Air Theater in Tartu Song Valley. It housed 4500 performers.

June 25-27, 1999. The 13^th festival was held in Lithuania. On June 26 the young people from the Baltic States performed together in the Dance Day in Kalnu Park, but on June 27 they joined for the Song Day in Vingis Park.

July 9-11, 2004. The 14^th Baltic Students' Song and Dance Festival took place in Latvia, Riga. More than 4000 participants from 52 different universities and higher education institutions joined in music. The opening concert of the festival and a torch procession took place on July 10, but the Gala concert resounded on Skonto stadium on July 11.

June 30-July 2, 2006. The Student Song and Dance Festival of the Baltic States will take place in Tartu in summer 2006 for the fifteenth time. The big event will be celebrating its 50^th anniversary in Tartu in the very place where this remarkable student festival once started.